


The Sun Inside You

by GreenEyedCreative



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24973849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenEyedCreative/pseuds/GreenEyedCreative
Summary: Azula's inner life is complicated and cuts deep. Her journey starts in the hospital and as she learns to untangle the overgrown forest inside of her, she slowly learns the truth about firebending, about her family, and about herself.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Kudos: 41





	The Sun Inside You

She was always watching. She was always paying attention.

Azula had eyes so bright that her mother would say to her through a loving smile that she was like an owl; she saw everything, even in the dark.

She watched how her brother stumble over and over and wouldn’t stop until he would finally walk. She watched her mother have two moods; the one that was always smiling for Azula and Zu-Zu, and the somber one she had when she would look off in the distance, when she thought no one was watching. 

She watched her uncle beat her cousin, Lu Ten, at Pai Sho every single time. She liked watching that in particular; it was just the way that Uncle Iroh had complete control over the board and could move the tiles as easy as breathing. 

Azula was supposed to stay with her mother and brother, but she was watching her father and grandfather as well. She would catch rare glimpses of them passing through the gardens as her father vied for the Fire Lord’s attention, or was busying himself with documents, or was just lost in thought. Azula tried many times to slip away from her mother’s eyes, to follow her father and to see what he was doing, what he was thinking, and what he knew. A few times, she did manage to slip away, but she would barely make it out of the garden before her mother picked her up and brought her back, assuming that Azula was just adventurous.

Azula was adventurous, to be sure. But she was also abundantly curious.

In fact, her brother brought up a point one day that interested her. Zu-Zu and Azula were sitting in their mother’s lap as they watched Iroh and Lu Ten perform a beautiful song on the liuqin. It was a quiet, almost sad song that Iroh was singing beautifully and Lu Ten was singing really badly. His voice was so bad that Iroh had to stop playing because he was overcome with laughter. Lu Ten laughed with him, tears practically springing from their eyes. 

Azula’s mother was laughing as well, but Zu-Zu was just watching them thoughtfully. As Iroh hugged his son, Zu-Zu looked up to his mother and asked “Why doesn’t daddy spend time with us?”

Azula remained silent as her mother answered “Your father loves you, Zuko. But he is the prince of the Fire Nation. He has many duties.”

Zu-Zu pouted, “Uncle Iroh’s a prince too. He spends time with Lu Ten.”

Azula thought Zu-Zu’s thought process was kind of smart. She couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of Lu Ten and all the attention that their uncle showered him with. The thought remained in her mind for most of the day until she saw her father walking into the gardens with Grandpa Azulon again. 

Zu-Zu and Azula traded glances and they both stood up, running for their father. Zu-Zu was faster, so he reached Dad first. He caught his father right in the middle of a sentence as he ran into his father’s leg and reached up for him, “Daddy!”

Dad ignored him, continuing to speak to Grandfather Azulon like Zu-Zu wasn’t even there. Nevertheless, Zu-Zu persisted, calling for his father again. Grandfather Azulon interrupted Ozai in the middle of his sentence and said “Take care of the interruption and come find me when you have your house in order.”

Dad bowed his head as Grandfather Azulon walked away. Just as the Fire Lord was turning the corner, Zu-Zu reached for his father a third time. “Dadd—”

Her father turned to Zu-Zu with eyes filled with fury. Azula stopped in her tracks, just out of sight of her father as he reached down and grabbed Zu-Zu’s wrist, holding so tight that Zu-Zu let out a cry of pain. “How dare you interrupt my conversation with the Fire Lord you little rat!? How dare you believe you can even speak when you can’t even bend!? You insolent, stupid…” Her father tore her brother apart word-by-word, reducing Zu-Zu to tears.

As she heard her father’s yells and her brother’s sobs, the arms Azula had had raised to embrace her father fell. She could see now that her brother’s desire for affection from Dad had been a mistake. 

But she had almost made the same mistake. She had wanted that affection to. She still wanted it, but… that was no good. It was the wrong thing to want. She took that desire and pushed it down because it was wrong. 

Because it was not what she needed.


End file.
